President Joe Biden on Monday issued an extraordinary slate of preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump and members of his own family, using executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor while also guaranteeing his closest relatives aren’t subject to future prosecutions.

Joe Biden in the final minutes of his presidency on Monday issued pardons to five more members of his family—his brother James and wife Sarah, his younger sister Valerie Biden Owens and husband John T. Owens, and his brother Francis Biden—after he says they were "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats" motivated by a desire to hurt him.